Workplace Conflict 1

Running head: CONFLICT IN THE WORKPLACE

Conflict in the Workplace: Getting the Job Done Yvonne N. Montgomery George Mason University December 19, 2009

Workplace Conflict 2 Managers spend between 24 to 60 percent of their time dealing with conflict in the workplace (Fiore). Often times, employees are either in conflict with another person, avoiding the conflict of other employees and managers, or recovering from a conflict in the workplace. Disagreements and differences of opinion can escalate into interpersonal conflict when varying ideas exist regarding personal and organizational success. The strong drive for work related achievement in some employees can clash with employees who do not emphasize work-related success in their lives. I recently experienced an interpersonal conflict with a coworker who wants to be the go-to person for a lot of administrative tasks, but repeatedly falls short on accurately completing or placing the appropriate level of emphasis on these tasks. As a result, there are often costly mistakes or delays that create additional work for other employees and managers. I attempted to discuss some of the issues to gain some insight on why the problems occur. Based on her feedback, I could make some recommendations to improve how tasks related to the support she provides me are completed. During the discussion, the individual got an attitude and insisted the tasks can be completed the way shes always done them and essentially disregarded everything I tried to say. I approached her as a professional and was never disrespectful nor did I speak in an accusatory manner or tone. Given her attitude and the impact her mistakes have on my work, I was obviously very upset. The smartest thing for me to do at that moment was walk away before I said something that would escalate the discussion into a heated argument. This paper will examine how the five principles of conflict were present in this situation and discuss some best practices for addressing and resolving the conflict.

Workplace Conflict 3 Looking back on the conflict, it is clear that the first principle of conflict being inevitable applied. According to the textbook, disagreements can be expected based on the fact that everyone is different and has different histories and goals (Devito, 2009-2010). In this situation, you have me a much younger, goal oriented employee whos receiving a college education and considered an expert within my field throughout the organization. On the other side, you have a complacent older woman approaching the last seven years or so of her career whos never completed high school or received a college education. The generational gap alone is enough to create friction based on how we accomplish objectives individually. In addition, the fact that we are interdependent on one another to complete some tasks increased the likelihood that a conflict may develop at some point. The second principle of conflict that applied to this situation is conflict can have negative and positive effects. The clearly negative effect was the resentment and hostility shown on her part when I attempted to discuss the issues. The negative effective could have been exacerbated by how I chose to react to her hostility but fortunately I did not retaliate. Since the conflict occurred in the course of doing our respective jobs, there were also positive effects. Most notably was the fact that I was trying to examine a problem and come up with a solution. For one reason or another, others within the organization had repeatedly ignored the problems. My intention was to explore the problems with her one on one and develop some solutions so we could move forward with completing tasks successfully with minimal delays. The third principle of conflict that applied to this situation is conflict can focus on content and/or relationship issues. The conflict was primarily based on content issues because it centered on completing tasks for our employer meaning the reason for the

Workplace Conflict 4 conflict was external to our involvement. However, I believe a relationship element also existed because she may have felt that I did not have the authority to address these issues with her because I was not her manager. As I stated earlier, we come from different generations within the workplace and how she believes a problem should be addressed may be different from the ways I believe a problem can be addressed and resolved. A fourth principle of conflict that applies to this situation is conflict styles can have consequences. According to the textbook, the ways in which we engage in conflict can impact how we resolve the conflict along with the relationship between the conflicted parties (Devito, 2009-2010). The conflict style I tried to use in this situation was collaborating, I win-you win. By applying this style, we both would win because our work could be completely effectively. That means I would not be faced with the stress of having to consistently correct her mistakes and she would not be faced with the eventual stress of being reprimanded and recognized as someone who could not get things done. My conflict style was not well received and in direct contrast to the avoiding, I lose-you lose style she applied. In my opinion, her response exhibited a classic example of this style. She showed that she was not concerned with either of our needs and psychologically withdrew from the discussion. The final principle of conflict that applied to this situation is conflict is influenced by culture. The conflict was influenced by our individual beliefs and values regarding the conflict. More specifically, our different cultures influenced the ways we considered were appropriate for dealing with the conflict. I also think that the cultural norms within the organization and my position within the organizational hierarchy contributed to our varying beliefs on how to address the conflict. Differences among coworkers are often ignored and

Workplace Conflict 5 avoided within the organization. The cultural norm is to accommodate people by sacrificing the organizations needs for the sake of the individual. There are a variety of strategies for dealing with conflict available. The type of strategy implemented is often based on multiple factors which include the goals to be achieved, the emotional state of those involved, and an assessment of the situation along with an individuals personality and competence at communicating (Devito, 2009-2010). The following tips can be used to ensure that conflicts are resolved in a productive manner. The first tip is to use win-win strategies to resolve the conflict. In this case, I felt that I was trying to resolve the problem using a win-win strategy but was met with avoidance. Based on our differences, if I am unable to facilitate discussions with her I will ultimately have to discuss it with her manger and let her manger help to resolve the conflict. This can still create a win-win situation because she may be more comfortable getting feedback and direction from her manager and the problems can still be corrected to both of our benefit. Another important tip is to deal with the issue rather than avoiding it. The conflict could have escalated when she developed an attitude because I could have countered with the same attitude. Instead I chose to walk away; but it is important that the conflict be revisited and resolved or it will continue to fester and make the situation worse than it already is. If I avoid the issue, I will be doing what so many others have done within the organization for a very long time. Avoiding a conflict will only make the problem worse. The next tip would be to choose a time to resolve the problems. I went in to discuss the issues without scheduling a time to discuss. I may have been able to improve the outcome had I just taken a moment to schedule a time for us to sit down and have a

Workplace Conflict 6 discussion. That way, she would have been prepared and had time to assess the conflict. The textbook recommends that conflict discussions be held when the conflicted parties are free of other problems (Devito, 2009-2010). In her defence, she may have had some other things going on and I may have caught her at a bad time. The fourth tip would be to empathize and try to understand the nature of the conflict from the other persons point of view. There could be underlying issues that I am unaware of that are the root of all the errors. Maybe there is a gap in communication, which is often the case in the workplace. Whatever the case, Ill need to show empathy and be able to look at the problem from her point of view. The final tip I could use to make the conflict more productive is to be assertive, not aggressive. By being assertive, I can show that I am willing to solve the problem using a positive approach. On the other hand, it is important for me to not get so wrapped into resolving the problems that I become aggressive and pushy. If I am unable to schedule a discussion and resolve the conflict with her, I should move ahead with the next plan of action until the issues can be worked out. Conflict in the workplace can seem unnatural and undesirable. However, interpersonal conflict between coworkers is perfectly natural and should be expected to occur. The overall goal is to ensure workplace conflicts are handled in a constructive way. Productive conflict management requires the conflicted parties to develop mutually beneficial solutions that work toward a true resolution of the conflict. A win-win strategy will always provide the best results when managing a conflict.

Workplace Conflict 7

References DeVito, J.A. (2009-2010). The interpersonal communication book: George Mason University package. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing. Fiore, Tony. (n.d.). Resolving workplace conflict: 4 ways to a win-win solution. Management and Human Resources. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/resolve.htm